Creamy Baba Ghanoush – Recipe for luscious Middle Eastern roasted eggplant dip, rich with sesame tahini. Healthy and tasty!
In Arabic, “baba” means father and “ghanoush” means spoiled. This “spoiled dad” dip (sometimes spelled babaganoush) is the creamier companion to hummus. If you have never tried it, you are in for a treat! Baba ghanoush is popular in countries throughout the Middle East. In Israel, it is known as eggplant salad, or salat hatzilim. In my home, it’s known as irresistible.
I used to think you needed to add bells and whistles to baba ghanoush to make it tasty… spices, lemon juice, etc. My Classic Baba Ghanoush recipe includes cumin, lemon and a little cayenne for heat. It’s a great recipe and readers love it, but lately I’ve been craving a creamier dip. I’ve pared my original recipe down to four simple ingredients… roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic and salt. Magically, that’s all you need to create a really creamy, really scrumptious baba ghanoush.
Mayonnaise is sometimes added to baba ghanoush to enhance the creamy texture (I love mayo, but not in my eggplant dip!). With the following recipe, you don’t need any mayo to make it creamy. All of that creamy goodness comes from tahini, a smooth paste made from toasted sesame seeds. Tahini is sold by the jar in Middle Eastern markets and at most health food stores; the creamier the tahini is, the creamier your dip will be. Roasting the eggplant gives it a wonderful smoky flavor, especially if you cook it over a gas flame. Serve it with warm pita bread, crackers or crudites.
We eat it by the spoonful. This stuff is highly addictive. You’ve been warned!
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Creamy Baba Ghanoush
Ingredients
- 3 pounds eggplant (about 2) roasted
- 6 tablespoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- Fresh parsley and paprika or smoked paprika for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Roast the eggplant; roasting over an open flame is recommended and will produce a smokier, richer flavor. For instructions, click here. Place the roasted eggplant pulp into a bowl with half of the smoky cooking liquid. Discard the skin and reserve the remaining cooking liquid. Let the eggplant return to room temperature.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl. Use a fork to stir well, breaking up any stringy pieces of eggplant, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. If the mixture seems too thick, stir in more of the cooking liquid. Taste the dip; add additional garlic or salt to taste, if desired.
- Serve dip at room temperature or chilled, depending on preference, with pita bread, crackers or veggies for dipping. Garnish with a little paprika or smoked paprika if desired.
Nutrition
Have tried several baba ghanoush recipes and this is by far the best. Since I roast my eggplants in the oven, I felt it was missing a bit of smokiness so I added a small amount of liquid smoke to taste. Made a huge difference and tasted exactly like the baba ghanoush I loved in Israel. Thank you.
I love Baba but mine always comes out dark brown, never nice and light colored like in this picture. What am I doing wrong? Is it the kind of eggplants we have in America? Should I look for smaller, sweeter ones? I am using the same ingredients you list, only sometimes I do add lemon. But I don’t think the lemon is making it dark. Thanks in advance!
Hi Samantha, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. This might be a silly question, but are you removing all of the skins from the eggplant? I can’t think of a reason for the dark color. Wish I could be of more help!
Great recipe, a keeper.
I just found your website. Where have you been all my life. I just made this for the first time and it is wonderfull!! COMPLETELY different from store bought. Thank you a thousand times!! I just signed up for your recipes & updates.
Awesome 🙂 happy to have you with us!
I made this tonight after work for a dinner I am having later in the week. It is delicious and was so easy to make.
Amazingly delicious and simple! Tori knocks it out of the ballpark once again 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it Shanin!